Category Archives: Unemployment

Raise the Minimum Wage? What Are You, a Nazi?

“Because if you go back to 1933, with different words, this is what Hitler was saying in Germany.  You don’t survive as a society if you encourage and thrive on envy or jealousy.”

Ken Langone, billionaire founder of Home Depot and huge Republican donor, on income inequality.

So if you hate carried interest and want to raise the minimum wage and extend unemployment benefits, well, heil to you, you despicable Nazi.

We’re going to give the Senate back to these people in November?  Really?  But of course they’re emboldened — they brought down our whole economy and no one went to jail.

Quote of the Day

“But it is both a relief and a disappointment that the new [job] numbers offer some assurance that the long-reliable pattern of adding a bit more than two million jobs a year continues apace.  The 175,000 net jobs added in February extrapolate to a pace of 2.1 million jobs a year…. The jobs recovery in the United States is astonishingly consistent, astonishingly resilient and astonishingly underwhelming.”

Neil Irwin, NYT

Tea Party Tyranny

From  “Tea Party Ain’t Over Yet:  How Conservatives Still Control Congress,” Talking Points Memo:

“The tea party has taken a series of hits since it goaded Republican leaders into a costly and self-defeating government shutdown last fall.  But the conservative movement remains formidable when it comes to pushing Republican leaders to just say no, at all costs, to new economic and domestic initiatives that aren’t essential to avert immediate crisis.

“The emerging dynamic is one where the tea party can no longer hold the basic functions of government hostage to conservative policy reforms, but has effective veto power over major new proposals that require bipartisan deal-making.

“Even on initiatives that are broadly popular, as in the case of emergency unemployment compensation and raising the minimum wage, conservatives have successfully blocked any movement forward.

“An initiative that Republican strategists say is imperative to stave off electoral extinction — immigration reform — isn’t going anywhere.  Recently, Speaker John Boehner took a significant step toward action by releasing a pro-reform blueprint.  But within one week, after a fierce backlash from tea party organizations…he hit the brakes and signaled that the House wouldn’t take up reform.”  Emphasis added.

A minority of the minority is controlling this country, is keeping it from moving forward economically and socially.  It really doesn’t matter at all that Obama beat Mitt, that Dems have a majority in the Senate (because you need 60), and that Dem House candidates got over a million more votes than GOP candidates.  What the hell did we win exactly?

Quote of the Day

“I believe it’s immoral for this country to have as a policy extending long-term unemployment to people rather than us working on creation of jobs.”

Congressman Pete Sessions (R-Texas)

Um, Pete, this isn’t a case of “rather than” — you can, and should, do both. Because while you’re “working on” creating those jobs, people need to eat and pay their rent.

But the thing is, the GOP has shown no interest whatsoever in creating jobs because that might make the anti-Christ Obama look good and help the demon Dems in 2014.  Your party is interested only in making the economy as stalled and sluggish as possible, which means making as many American families as possible suffer.

There’s a word for that.  I believe it’s immoral.

One Vote, Just One Damn Vote

A three-month extension of unemployment benefits for 1.7 million of us failed today in the Senate by just one vote.  They had 59 votes, which is of course a majority, but because of the filibuster you need 60.

These four Republicans voted in favor:  Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Susan Collins of Maine, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Unemployment Extension, RIP

The Senate defeated two proposals to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed in states with high unemployment rates.

A plan to extend benefits through November, paid for by extending the sequester, lost 52-48.

Another plan to extend benefits for just three months, without paying for it, lost 55-45.

It’s not just heartless, it’s makes no sense economically.  Aside from the families most directly affected, the whole country will suffer from reduced GDP and fewer jobs created this year.

With the need for 60 votes, the GOP might as well control the Senate as well as the House.

Don’t Give a Shit? There’s a GOP Talking Point for That.

GOP House leadership has given their rank and file talking points to try to justify their opposition to extending unemployment benefits without sounding dickish.

The talking points cite the “success” of ending emergency benefits in North Carolina last July, where the unemployment rate did, in fact, drop.  But that’s because people just gave up and stopped looking for work.  The labor participation rate in NC is the lowest it’s been in 37 years.

NC is actually a great talking point for Dems.

They Got the Votes!

Six Republican senators joined with the Democrats to break a filibuster for a three-month extension of the unemployment benefits that expired on December 28.  The vote was 60-37 (Dem Mark Begich of Alaska couldn’t get there).

Thank you to these “good” Republicans — Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Dan Coats of Indiana, Dean Heller of Nevada, and Rob Portman of Ohio — for doing the right thing — at least procedurally — for both our long-term unemployed and our economy.

But now they move to the substantive vote — and they still have to find a way to pay for the thing, so it’s far from done.

Then, of course, it would take a miracle to get it through the House, where 207 of the GOP seats are considered safe, so no incentive to rock the boat there .

GOP Wants to Weaken Economy

I agree with Brian Beutler at Salon that the GOP is opposing an extension of unemployment benefits because they don’t want to do anything to help the economy — besides helping the affected families, an extension would create jobs and raise GDP.

From  “GOP’s ulterior motive on unemployment:  Economic sabotage?”:

“Congress has never cut off these benefits when unemployment has been as high as it is right now, and the long-term unemployed and chronically poor aren’t equivalent populations.  So there’s got to be more going on than just conservative indifference.

“Some Republicans would claim the deficit is too high to renew benefits, but we know that’s not true because the deficit is shrinking fast, and there are myriad, painless ways to defray the cost….

“Unemployment benefits make people’s lives better and buoy a fragile, but possibly accelerating recovery.  Some Republicans are apparently reluctant to give Democrats and the economy a shot in the arm right now.”

There are no principles involved here,  just pure politics.  From now on, it’s going to be all about the GOP retaking the Senate, and after the mid-terms, it’s going to all about the GOP retaking the White House.  No governing, just campaigning.